Bellator 189, on December 1, 2017, will spotlight the women at 145-pounds when Julia Budd defends her strap in a rematch against Arlene Blencowe (2-1). Well before the belt goes up for grabs, Leibrock is scheduled to debut with the Viacom-back fight company opposite the experienced Alexis ‘Sneaky Zebra’ Dufresne (6-3).

Leibrock demonstrated the density of her bones while contracted by Invicta Fighting Championships, the world’s leading all-female MMA promotion. At 5’11”, Leibrock’s only loss was to the even rangier Megan Anderson, a talented competitor who eventually claimed the organization’s Featherweight Interim Title.

Although Combat Sports Academy’s Leibrock will own the reach advantage over Dufresne at Bellator 189, it will be challenging to expose ‘Sneaky Zebra’ because she owns triple the cage time and has earned her stripes as a viable contender under the UFC’s blinding lights.

Oscar ‘Superman’ Martinez had decided to retire from MMA after his upcoming bid for a belt on November 18, 2017, though any final word on the matter, according to Martinez, will actually be determined by a twelve-pound stipulation.

Before Martinez enters California Fighting Championship (CFC) 1 to meet Steven Cartwright for the CFC Lightweight Title, the long-time resident of Sonora appeared on Episode 86 of the @norcalfightmma Podcast (link here) to discuss the trophy he expects to wrap around his waist at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds. Not only will the shiny hardware mark an unforgettable memory for Martinez in MMA, the audience discovered the CFC crown at 205-pounds will simultaneously serve as an anchor, harboring the hard-hitting combatant with over a decade in the sport for just a little bit longer.

Much like Martinez’s strategy for Cartwright at CFC 1, he shot from the gates upon his introduction to the show. After the host of the @norcalfightmma Podcast, Dave Madden, welcomed Martinez and outlined that CFC 1 would be his final contest, Martinez immediately invited listeners into his mindset as a competitor.

“Here’s the thing: before we get into that [retirement], if I do get a title, you’re not really a champion until you defend it.” Martinez continued, clarifying his position on closing the door to his life as a professional prizefighter, “I kind of threw that [retirement] out there, but I don’t want this guy [Cartwright] to think that if he beats me, he retired me—because he didn’t. If I win that title, I will defend it. I was thinking about it, and—honestly—I do want that belt. But I want it to be something I earn and defend.”

Since retiring from MMA has become en vogue, for any doubters of Martinez’s willingness to walk away, he recalled his slot as the headliner was initially designed as a send-off into the sunset in his own backyard.

“He [Cartwright] and I used to be friends. He crossed the line a few years ago, and we were supposed to fight a year ago. He hurt his knee.” Although time heals wounds, Cartwright, as Martinez continued, still simmered in animosity, “I got over the issue we had, so it was no longer an issue. One night, in the middle of the night, at 1:14 am, I get a text message from Al Joslin that said, ‘Hey, Steven Cartwright sent me a message that said he wants to fight you.’ I roll over and say, ‘Yeah, I’ll fight him,’ and then went back to sleep. A bunch of promoters were coming up here and trying to get a show up here, and I was like, ‘Hey, if you let me be the main event, I’ll help you drive this [CFC 1] through.’ That was my asking gift: let me fight at home for my last time because, like I said, I was retiring.”

As the days to CFC 1 disappear from the calendar, the vision Martinez musters for how things will play out with Cartwright for CFC’s Light Heavyweight Championship could mean: Northern California’s MMA collective can expect to catch Martinez in the cage sometime soon.

“How I see it going: he comes out jab, jab, head kick—oh shit, he got taken down and beat the fuck up.”

Five of Team Alpha Male’s amateurs will load up the team bus and travel to the southern tip of California to meet the best that Jackson Wink MMA has to offer at Epic Fighting 36.

Epic Fighting, an all amateur MMA promotion housed in San Diego, has been experimenting with the concept of pitting one team against another. On November 10, 2017, Team Alpha Male, the elite squadron from Northern California, will assess where they fall in the pecking order of world class gyms by releasing their developing prospects from the nest to face New Mexico’s Jackson Wink MMA.

The representatives from Team Alpha Male include: David Klingsheim at flyweight, Amir Kazemi at bantamweight, Moses Daniyelyan at featherweight, Kaleio Romero at lightweight, and Daniel Zaragoza at middleweight.

If you’re unable to attend the Four Points Sheraton, pay close attention to the aftermath because in the last installment of Epic Fighting, the results were memorable. For instance, Kaleio Romero, in his first fight flying Team Alpha Male’s flag, suplexed his opponent into an unconscious state.

Finally, after nearly a year of animosity between ex-teammates turned rivals T.J. Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt, the score was settled over the weekend, with Dillashaw scoring a knockout at UFC 217 to become bantamweight champion for the second time. So that it’s, right? This means we’re done with the whole Team Alpha Male vs. Dillashaw…

Of all the promotions providing a brand of Fighting Championships throughout ‘The Golden State,’ California Fighting Championship (CFC), that is until November 18, 2017, has been missing from the picture.

Within the walls of the Mother Lode Fairgrounds in Sonora, CFC 1 is crammed with both amateur and professional mixed martial artists, topped with a title in the light heavyweight division, in search of a blue-ribbon for ‘Best in Show’ to accompany their exciting victory.

November 4, 2017—The Jackson Rancheria Casino Resort’s Grand Oak Ballroom was a dense forest of fight fans, from the first bell to the last, for the latest installment of Global Knockout (GKO)—GKO 11.

Main Event: Tyler Diamond vs. Emilio Chavez for the vacant GKO Featherweight Title

GKO’s front office reminded Northern California: there’s still plenty of gold in the hills of Jackson, and Team Alpha Male’s Tyler Diamond was the ideal featherweight to go mining for it against Emilio Chavez in the main event.

Diamond’s followers sparkled from their seats, raining down disgust for Chavez—the visitor—and deafening cheers for the native of Oroville. The volume pounded eardrums, setting the tempo for the beating Diamond was about to deliver.

From the moment the bell released Chavez and Diamond from their corners, each left their good intentions behind. Diamond hurled explosive punches at Chavez, but the length of Chavez kept him just outside of Diamond’s crosshairs. When Diamond grasped hold of Chavez in a clinch, he dragged his opponent to the canvas and buried him like a bone.

Diamond attempted to secure a rear naked choke, but Chavez was able to squirm somewhat free. Like a schoolyard bully, the twenty-six year-old stud didn’t reset the position of his arm around Chavez’s neck; instead, he squeezed harder. Chavez soon sensed the walls closing in around him and conceded.

GKO 11 Performances of the Night

The executives at GKO huddled up at GKO 11’s conclusion to determine which mixed martial artists’ performances stood heads-and-shoulders above the remainder of the pack. Selections for performance bonuses included: